


The Funeral

by KZDipped



Category: Eddsworld
Genre: Future AU, Major character death - Freeform, Violence, Weaponry, idk guns, please comment i live off those, this story occured to me at 2 am while fighting sleep, typical army stuff you guys know the drill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-02-07 20:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12849117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KZDipped/pseuds/KZDipped
Summary: Tom never asked for this kind of responsibility.  But when Red Leader dies, leaving him in charge of the army, what is he supposed to do?





	1. Good Times

Tom heard the hurried footsteps long before any alarm sounded. He turned, looking back down the hall of this main Red Army base. His visor blinked slowly, taking in the empty space; until a very familiar figure dashed into view. They stared each other down for a moment, before Tom narrowed his eyes. “You know, just because you stand still doesn’t mean I haven’t already seen you.”

  
“Darn.” Edd straightened from the awkward pose he had frozen in. “You got me.”

  
“What are you up to now? You barely got away last month, why would you come back so soon?”

  
Edd shrugged, continuing down the hall until he was standing fairly in front of Tom. “You know, my army has agendas too. Let’s just say there’s a little present waiting for Red Leader when he gets back to his office.”

  
“It better not be a bomb, that is so cliché.” Tom watched Edd’s reaction, then laughed. “You’re kidding, it is?”

  
“I’d like to see you come up with an original plan! All the good assassination techniques are either too hard or overdone.” Edd pouted comically, before grinning. “I didn’t place it anyway, my job was to hack into the computers; let’s just say, there are files missing, as well as some new text shortcuts in place for your coms.”

  
Tom rolled his eyes, stepping a little father away from his old friend. “If you leave now I can say I didn’t see you, you’d better get going.”

  
Edd nodded, wrapping his trenchcoat tighter around him. “I’ll be back for you soon.”

  
“Yeah right, I look forward to it.” Tom watched as Edd disappeared around the corner, before heading off towards Tord’s office. That was the problem, Edd didn’t seem to understand that his men were far more serious about dealing damage to the Red Army than he was; he was very certain Edd had no expectation of any real threat being dealt to Tord.

  
He stepped into the corridor just in time to hear hurried footsteps away; no doubt those were Edd’s soldiers. There was a sudden crash, and several shouts at the end of the hall; by the time Tom reached the sight, he found Tord and a few Red soldiers standing over the green-clad infiltrators. “Ah Tom, nice of you to join us.” Tord looked down at one of the men, nudging him slightly with his boot. All three of the enemy had been disarmed, and, although furious, were keeping their positions on the floor. “Did you see their leader?”

  
“Eh, maybe? He was so fast, I’m not too sure.” Tom flapped his hand in dismissal, sticking the other in his pocket.

  
“I’ll fire you one day, I swear.” Done with his grumbling, Tord motioned his soldiers to take the prisoners away. “They are a legitimate security breach you know, you should be more concerned.”

  
“If it was just Edd, you know he’d only pull pranks.” Tom walked back along the corridor toward Tord’s office, just behind the leader.

  
Tord hummed. “Yes well, if he thinks he can keep sneaking in and out of here, he’s wrong. I’ll just get some new facial recognition software or something, lock him up in the dungeon for a few months to teach him a lesson.”

  
Tom was still chuckling when a thought hit him. Edd’s men had been caught moving away from the office, which would mean they finished their mission- He whirled, just in time to see Tord’s robotic hand touch the doorknob to his office. “Wait TORD NO!”

  
There was a dreadful sucking of air from the corridor, as explosives ignited; the next moment, everything was blown out and away.

  
Tom blacked out momentarily, his glasses flickering from the brute force; he straightened painfully, pressed against the far wall and some kind of debris. He heard muted movement, and as his eyes came back online he could see soldiers bustling around in the smoky near-darkness. With a slight cough he attracted some attention to himself; a soldier came forward, then another, to pull away the broken bits of building and drag him out. Tom couldn’t quite tell how he was injured yet, only that he was; his chest hurt pretty badly, he may have caught some shrapnel. He lifted his head a little more, trying to see through the cloud; where was Tord?

  
A medic was by his side now, and although he couldn’t quite hear what he was saying Tom knew he was encouraging him not to move; but he had to know if Tord was alright too. He sat up, pressing a firm hand against his paining abdomen, and just managed to see through the crowd of distressed soldiers. He saw.

  
Tom leaned back. He passed out.

 

* * *

 

The hospital wing was quiet, always the most peaceful part of base. Tom was awake again, not doing much, but awake. His chest was wrapped in white bandages, other various cuts and bruises covered similarly. He listened to the soft hum of machines, running important tasks to one end or another.

  
A door opened, and Patryck came in; Tom sat up as he approached, muttering a quiet greeting. Patryck was carrying some kind of paperwork, always on top of the necessities as per usual. He grabbed a chair, sitting beside Tom’s cot. He was still confined to bed by doctor’s orders, but for a change he didn’t really feel like fighting that.

  
Patryck cleared his throat, setting the bundle of papers to the side for the time being. “How are you feeling?”

  
A loaded question. “Fine. The doctors said I could leave by next week.”

  
Patryck nodded. “That’s great. Look, I know you aren’t really up to this, but I need your input. Obviously the army’s leadership is going to be changing, and-“

  
“I’m not doing it.”

  
Tom’s voice was deadpan, tired, and Patryck waited a heartbeat before saying, “And that’s fine. The problem is, Tord left you as second-in-command, not to mention explicit orders that if anything should befall him you were to assume leadership.” Tom didn’t respond, and Patryck continued, “Essentially, we need you to pick someone else.”

  
“You or Paul won’t do it?” Tom already knew the answer to this, even before Patryck shook his head softly. “There must be someone else who is next in command.”

  
“Of course, but Tom I really recommend you choose someone else.” Patryck rummaged among the papers now, pulling out several sheets. “His name is Murphy, and he’s got a pretty severe history of risky behavior. Tord liked him because he got the job done, and didn’t care much for formality, but he doesn’t care much for fellow soldiers and I doubt he would change his tune as leader.”

  
Tom nodded mutely. “Do you have any other suggestions?”

  
“I was hoping you would, but if not I can compile a list of candidates.” Patryck tucked the papers away, gathering them to himself and standing up. “I’ll keep you updated.”

  
“How is the army doing? In general.”

  
“Really well, all things considered. There’s definitely some amount of concern over the army’s future, which is to be expected.” He hesitated. “There’s a lot of speculation about how it happened, you know. We released all the info and footage we had, but there may still be a trial.”

  
“Makes sense.” Tom seemed to be tuning out at this point, gaze fixed on some point across the room.

  
Patryck looked at him, some slight concern beginning to show. “You know, this isn’t really your fault right?”

  
Tom didn’t answer. His hands met on top of the blanket, knotting together gently. Patryck took that as his cue to step out. 


	2. Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial is on

Sure enough a trial was called, before the week was even out; it was an interesting affair, as one of the main suspects was the current leader. Of course they didn’t call Tom a suspect, but he wasn’t an idiot; the questioning wouldn’t have been so serious if he had not been.  Paul and Patryck had caught onto this as well, always the loyal soldiers they had pulled him aside to warn him. A jury of generals had been arranged, with 'as little bias' as possible. There were several on the accusing side, with different cases to present; luckily Tom only had to testify once for all. The only other suspects that he knew of were those of Edd’s soldiers who had been captured. No doubt they would be convicted.

  
“Tom Redge, also known as Blue Leader, and current standing commander of the Red Army.” Tom snapped back to the present, staring at the speaker addressing him and the court. It was really just the cafeteria with a podium added in, but formality had always been somewhat of a joke here. “Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but-”

  
“Yes.”

  
The soldier seemed almost surprised at his simple answer; then again, Tom hadn’t exactly been in the mood for sarcasm these past few days. “Questioning will begin then.”

  
Another soldier stepped out, and Tom barely recognized him as being Murphy, the other candidate for leader. He had dark hair, cut short, and wore an impeccable uniform. Tom immediately disliked him. “So, Blue, you were present when the bomb went off?”

  
“Obviously.” Bandages still peeked out around the collar of his shirt.

  
“And just before this event, you encountered one of the enemy soldiers? The leader, I believe?” The smirk gracing Murphy’s face would have been concerning if it wasn’t so infuriating; he looked as though he had the world right where he wanted it.

  
“Yes.”

  
“And is it true, you have a personal record with this rebellion leader?”

  
Ah. That’s what he was getting at. “Yes, Red and I were roommates with him for a number of years. That was a long time ago though.”

  
“Is this why you allowed him to leave?”

  
Tom bit his lip hard. “Yes, but this had nothing to do with the bomb placed in the office. I assume you got this information from surveillance footage, and if you continued to watch the footage you would see Red was aware of this.” He could see out of the corner of his eye Paul and Patryck watching nervously; they had been against his plan, to actually tell the truth. But to be honest, there was a very extensive file on Tom anyway that Tord had kept since the beginning, and it would likely be taken and used as evidence. If he didn’t match that story, he would immediately be handing power over; not to mention a possible threat of death, depending on who actually convicted him.

  
“Please stay on topic. Continuing on, you had at least three minutes during which you were aware of the bomb threat. Could you not have warned the leader sooner, thus avoiding a blatant act of treason?”

  
“Yes.” Tom’s arms clenched a little tighter around his abdomen, feeling the strain of still closing wounds. He could sense Patryck’s astonished stare on him, but he continued, “I could have warned Red earlier, and didn’t. But it was not intentional.”

  
“That’s tantamount to a confession!”

  
“Are you kidding me? No it’s not!” Before Tom could even retort (and he had some very choice words to say), Patryck ignored the judge’s call to order, stepping forward into the open space before the podium. “This is a joke, do you honestly think Blue would do this? Have you forgotten how much he’s done for this army?”

  
“He is close friends with the perpetrator-“

  
“Was. And so was Red, they all knew each other, and according to testimony from the tapes the plan wasn’t even supposed to work!” Patryck looked furious, much to Tom’s surprise. “You have the soldiers who placed the bomb, who else do you need to blame? I believe the questioning is biased. You’ve had your testimony, stop pretending you could-“

  
“That’s enough!” The judge glared at Patryck, just barely looking down at him. “That was completely out of order, but even so you have a good point. This is not a trial for Blue, but for the people who actually caused the death. Enough questioning, the witness may go.”

  
Tom didn’t move for a moment, thrown off by this development; but he stepped down, joined by Patryck as they left the mock court.

  
They met Paul just outside in the hall, him also having slipped away. Patryck was ranting about Murphy and his corrupt questioning, unnecessary words that Tom tuned out quickly. Paul gave Tom a sympathetic look, one he returned with a glare. “That was pretty intense. You alright?”

  
“Fine. Do you have the shortlist of candidates yet?” His tone was curt, something the right hand men caught on to immediately.

  
“…Yes, or nearly so- I can give you what we have so far.”

  
“Good. Send it to my room.”

  
“Hey maybe you should take some time off, huh?” Patryck had stopped muttering about the trial, instead casting a concerned glance Tom’s way. Tom didn’t appreciate it. “You just got out of the hospital, and you’ve been doing nothing but work since. The army can wait.”

  
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Tom muttered, but seeing their disappointed looks he shrugged them off. “Going back to my room counts as rest, I just want to get started on reading files.”

  
“Alright. You’re the boss.”

  
Tom made a strange expression at those words, before turning around and leaving them behind. He could do it in his office instead, but that felt too official. Even if he was the Leader, he certainly didn’t want this to become normal. He would finish this work Tord had so rudely left him with, then he would move on, to... 

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't research any kind of law for this pls ignore the problems and just assume Red Army doesn't know how the justice system works either


	3. Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom has two difficult discussions.

Tom did end up moving to his office the next day. As it turned out, there were a lot of soldiers with a lot of trivial problems, and they had no shame about bursting into his room at all hours for a resolution. Besides, he supposed some level of formality couldn’t hurt.

The files Paul and Patryck had put together for candidates were good, very thorough on all accounts, but Tom hadn’t found anyone even worth an interview. They were either too young and inexperienced, or had some blemish on their records making them seemingly unfit. Not that Red didn’t have problems too, Tom kept trying to remind himself, but at the same time he found himself dropping file after file in the “no” pile. Not a person seemed remotely close to the leader the army had had, and needed.

A sharp knock at the door distracted him; with a soft “come in”, Tom invited a man he had been waiting to see; Murphy. He was honestly surprised the soldier came by so soon however, considering his quick willingness to accuse Tom in front of the troops.

Murphy, to his credit, had a cheery smile on his face and no trace of the defiant attitude of the day before. “Hard at work I see?”

“Yes, choosing someone who could fill Red Leader’s shoes is quite the challenge.” Tom didn’t give him the satisfaction of his full attention, instead beginning to sort files around idly.

“Ah yes, formally deciding must be tough work. Must make it seem fair, and all that.”

Interesting wording. Tom gave him an amused glare. “If you’re here for me to tell you-“

“Oh no no boss! Don’t get me wrong, I would never assume.” Murphy had, during this time, made his way to the chair before the desk; he gripped the back of the seat tightly, sending another smile Tom’s way. “Just wanted to know where your head was at, regarding who candidates were…”

“Oh of course, so sorry- here let’s see…” Tom made a dramatic show of flipping through files, to where he knew exactly the sheet he was looking for lay. “Here, yes? Murphy Reynolds?”

Murphy nodded, and he flipped through the folder quickly. “Yes, I remember now! Should have done this earlier, so sorry about that.” With a flick of his wrist, Tom dropped the file into the largest pile.

Murphy stared at it, a very controlled expression on his face; Tom knew he was smart enough to figure out what this meant. “With all due respect sir, why am I not considered?”

“Well, the first example I saw was a detailing of your mission in Hungary, and I think that alone would be enough to incriminate you. I assume you remember it; you lost all twenty of the men in your charge when you abandoned them to the enemy forces, including recruits who were there only for training purposes and senior soldiers who were an incredible asset.”

With a chuckle, Murphy replied, “If you read the rest of that report, Blue, you would have seen I achieved my objective-“

“At the cost of your team. You used them as unnecessary bait, which was not part of your detailed mission plan. A leader does not do that.” Tom reached for another file, opening it lazily. “There are many more examples where that comes from, if you’re looking for more reasons.”

“That won’t be necessary, Blue.” Murphy’s entire demeanour had changed in an instant. With a very mocking salute he turned around and strode out of the office, shouting back sarcastically, “I wish you luck in your search!”

He nearly collided into Patryck, who had happened to be about to enter just as Murphy’s patience ran out. Patryck stared after Murphy, noting his angry stance with a glare of his own. “What did he want?”

“What do you think?” Tom waved him in. “It’s fine, he’s backed off for now.”

“I’d recommend keeping a bit of surveillance on him though, get someone to track him. It wouldn’t pay to underestimate a man like him.” Satisfied, Patryck moved on to his main topic of discussion; “We’ve received transmissions from the rebels, asking to parley. They still asked for Red Leader, but who knows if they know of his death yet.”

Tom thought for a long moment before responding. “Tell them I’ll meet with their leader only, in the usual place. Make sure they know it’s me.”

“Alright. Are you going to tell them?”

“Tell them they succeeded? They probably deserve to know.” Tom’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, reassuringly like his usual self.

“It’s just that they may choose to strike us while we’re relatively weak.”

“Don’t talk to me like I don’t know that. It’s Edd, I really don’t think he would do that; even if he did, I could take charge just fine for a day or two until they realize knocking out the leader did nothing to the physical strength of the army.”

“…If you say so.” Patryck turned, but hesitated before exiting the room. “I really think we should tail Murphy-“

“For Pete’s sake take care of it then!” Tom realized he may have come across as frustrated, and pinned a short laugh to the end of the sentence. “You don’t really need my permission Pat. Just do what you think needs to be.”

Patryck nodded slowly. “I’ll keep you updated. See you later.”

Tom muttered in affirmation, and as the door slammed shut dropped another file on the desk.

* * *

 

The meeting took place several days later, after each army had had time to stake out the usual warehouse once again and determine safety for their leaders. This stage of a meeting had become somewhat of a joke, at least between Tom and Edd; Tord had always taken it seriously, but those two always knew neither would attack the other during a peaceful meeting like this. Usually they were only used to throw petty insults back and forth, get the other riled up so another skirmish could start if nothing interesting had happened as of late. So as Tom journeyed over for the parley, he couldn’t help but think of all the joking threats exchanged, all the nonsense arguments that took place here, and the more serious news he was charged with delivering now.

He entered the building, unsurprised to see Edd there; he was always first to arrive, no matter how many efforts were made on behalf of the Reds to beat him. “Blue!” A cheerful call sounded from across the empty room. “So happy you could make it! You know we always ask for Red, but you’re just so much more reasonable, we should do this more often!”

A faint smile rose to Tom’s lips, despite himself. Edd had that effect on many people. He didn’t reply however, simply motioning his men to exit the building, and Edd did the same. They met in the middle of the room now, standing at what Tom felt was an awkwardly close distance of several feet. “So, what’s Red’s excuse this time? Too embarrassed to admit we snuck into his base again?” Once again Tom was quiet, so Edd continued, “Come on! I want to hear details, did he try to send out an order yet? Wait ‘til he sees what I programmed his communicator with, he’ll never live that down!”

“He’s dead, Edd.” The words echoed around the warehouse, leaving a bitter taste on the leader’s mouth. “Your men killed him.”

Silence split the pair for a long moment; when Edd spoke next, it was in a whisper. “What?” Then, when that didn’t seem enough, “Why didn’t I know?”

“This isn’t a public thing, unless we were to disband the army it’s the last announcement we want to make.” Tom’s hands were in his pockets, his visor pointed to the ground. “But congratulations, I guess.”

“Tom don’t be like that, you know I didn’t- we weren’t supposed to…The bomb?” Tom nodded affirmatively. Edd’s fingers rifled through his messy hair, as he let out a messy sigh. “I didn’t know.”

“It is what it is. Do what you think is right as for your relations with us, we’re fully prepared to continue to engage your forces-“

“Tom wait-“

“-but we are willing to negotiate a peace at a later time as well,” Tom finished. He glanced up at Edd, who actually looked… well, sad wasn’t the right word. But the fact that he was distressed wasn’t a surprise. Tom knew this would come as a terrible shock. His own face softened slightly, but he didn’t have better words than those he had officially said.

“Are you taking leadership?” Edd was staring at him, but Tom wasn’t sure what answer he was expecting.

“No. And I don’t know who will be yet.” Tom allowed himself a laugh, bitter but honest. “There aren’t too many people like him, y’know? One of a psychotic kind.”

“Yeah well… couldn’t you disband the army? I mean come on Tom, you didn’t actually support Tord’s ideas did you? It never could have worked!”

For some reason something in Tom’s chest stiffened with those words. “I think it’s cheating to break apart all his hard work don’t you? Besides, this army is holding together a lot of people who could be very dangerous on their own, not to mention the fact they would never accept the order to disband from me. So no, as much as they won’t succeed, I need to set them up for some kind of future.”

Edd gave him an unbelieving stare. “We won Tom. Just let the army die.”

Tom couldn’t reply to that. There didn’t seem any kind of response to something so simultaneously devastating and triumphant. “Unless you have any other questions, this meeting is over. Expect contact when we are ready to negotiate treatise.” He turned around, ignoring Edd’s quite informal call with a shake of his head. He was sure they were being monitored, and besides; what could he possibly say that would make either of their views make sense?

His men were waiting outside, with the van that would take them just a short ways down the road to the helicopter; he climbed in, nodding to the soldiers but not filling them in on anything that may have transpired. The army would get an official report in the morning anyway, if not tonight. All that needed saying was, “Talks with Greens postponed indefinitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't let this fic go unended darn it. Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Anamnesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for some reflection.

The door swung open softly, the automatic lights flashing on. The office looked like it always had, messy. There was some order to the chaos, most books were piled in or around the shelving unit, and there were some obvious piling to the papers crowding the desk; but only the man who had put it there could have identified what the organization meant.

  
Tom stepped into the room slowly, closing the door behind him. It was too quiet in here, very unlike every other time he’d had the *pleasure* of coming in. There should be some smash of an invention breaking, a shout because Tom walked in on something, or music with foreign lyrics blasting at just an audible level to be sensed in the hall outside, a warning before entering the chaotic workspace. But now there was silence.

  
Best not to linger. Tom circled around the desk quickly, not bothering to take a seat but beginning to shuffle through the masses of paper. Most of this was unsigned paperwork, orders for soldiers in other bases or transfer requests or weaponry order sheets. All these sorts of things had been put on hold for the moment, with commanders given more responsibility to work out their own needs. Not that that was a huge change, considering the amount of times Tom had had to authorize such requests just because Tord was bored of responding, or locked in his lab for the fourth day in a row trying to perfect some new device. Tom smirked a little at that, Tord really was the worst at spending his time reasonably; there had been many days that he had had to interrupt the leader from his working fervour just to make sure he ate something and took a nap.

  
He found the papers he had been searching for in a side drawer of the desk: Tord’s notes, for probably the last six or seven years, all compressed and bundled bar the very latest ones. This was a long shot of course, but if there had been another up and coming recruit they weren’t aware of it would have been recorded here. Tom pulled the first bundle out, untwisting the twine around the gently creased papers. Many of these were slightly creased or obviously torn from a notebook; they were the closest things Tord ever kept to a diary. He was almost religious about saving each one, to the point that several of the pages just off the top had only a name and a phrase that must have meant something at the time but was meaningless now, or the time and place of a meeting, or a concept sketch for a weapon that he was sure at the time he needed but certainly never used.

  
Tom leafed through the first several, then let out a sigh. Tord hadn’t exactly been known for his organizational skills; these were such a mismatch of random events and day to day goings on that he really wasn’t sure there would be any information of use at all. But in comparison to the rest of the papers and and documents scattered through this place, well- this quickly became the lesser of two evils.

  
The papers already covering the desk were swept into the now empty drawer, setting up those he had retrieved in order from oldest to most recent. Most of his regular work had already been reassigned to generals, or really whoever could handle it; so he had all the time he could need to sort through this. Many of the papers had notes in Norwegian, and these he ignored entirely- it wasn’t worth the time it would take to decode each from both its handwriting and language barriers. Some pages had doodles; Tom often forgot, but Tord had once been a sort of inspiring artist, although those interests had obviously been put to the side.

  
He took a seat, picking up the first few and leafing through them. Here was a page detailing what must have been the beginnings of the attack on the uk; and another, obviously created during a board meeting, scrawled with opinions and the occasional detail of the topic at hand. Tom took a few names down from this sheet for researching later, then turned to the next.

  
The process was tedious, and it was about an hour until Tom saw something he recognized; a sketch detailing his goggles. It was fairly detailed compared to some of the other drawings he’d seen, not quite a blueprint but obviously some effort had been put in. There were a lot of foreign notes, coupled with technical abbreviations. He stared at this for a long moment, before flipping it over and to the side; but when he turned back to the pile he saw his own name.

  
This did make sense; these must be from around the time when he enlisted. Tom flipped through them quickly, not sure if he wanted to read them through or not. There were references to the final conquering of Britain, the event that had made him decide to stay rather than run with the tech he had been given- but moreso there were notes upon notes about… him. These were all put to the side rather quickly, several lines about whether or not Tom could be trusted the only glimpse he caught. Fair.

  
Tom cleared his throat, pulling a fresh stack of papers toward him. If he was looking for a change of pace, though, he didn’t find it. These must have not been quite sorted by date, for they were a couple years more recent: there was a doodle of vortex, one Tom recognized immediately as those the time machines’ open. That had been some adventure. There were a bunch of mostly empty pages, with only a word or two; these slowly disappeared, to be replaced with pages upon pages of furious notes on time paradoxes, equations and notes about potential changes to the timeline. Tom barely remembered the adventure back in time himself, which Tord had assured him through a haze of stress was only the result of time correcting itself.

  
They had worked together then, trying to remember what was left of the old world and how the new had come about. The most obvious change had of course been Edd, who instead of being a wanted criminal was a wanted rebellion leader. Still a problem, but at least he seemed happier, Tom mused. Otherwise the repercussions had been few and far between. As far as they could tell, of course.

  
The notes continued, on and on and getting more and more recent. Tom didn’t see any new names at this point, but he kept going. As for why he continued he was unsure, as it was somewhat of a waste of time, but the only logical course seemed to read on. He saw more and more shared history, as the goings on of the army concerned not just Red any longer, but Blue as well. It was strange, they had ended up being nearly equal partners in this venture, with Tord filling the passion requirement and Tom the logical. Even if publicly the army was red, the background hue was definitely his own, strongly refuted by these scribblings of every day life.

  
The army was going to fall without its leaders. Hell, if Tom stayed, he knew they’d still have a chance; if he left, _when_ he leaves… they’ll crumble.

  
A sudden crash outside jolted Tom out of his reverie; sitting up straight in the chair and quickly shoving the most important papers in his jacket, he listened carefully. There was some kind of commotion in the hall, turning into what decidedly sounded like footsteps. Tom stood, hand on the pistol at his hip, as the door flew open to reveal Paul. The pair stared at each other for a shocked moment, Paul standing out of breath with a drawn gun at his side. “Paul, what’s going on?” Tom asked in amazement.

  
“It’s Murphy, he’s rallying troops,” Paul panted. “We’re going to have a riot soon, we need to do something.”

  
Tom was already out the door, a cascade of papers sweeping off the desk. “Where are they?”

  
“The cafeteria, nearly everyone is here.” Paul struggled to keep up, slotting his gun back into the holster. “He knocked out communications, Patryck and I have been trying to find you.” As they walked Tom was struck with how quiet the base was, with not a soul in sight. There should at least have been sentries, and the fact that no one approached them, neither could any be heard, was distressing to say the least. Tom almost expected them to be jumped at any moment, no wonder Paul had drawn his weapon.

  
But they made it to the general area of the cafeteria without being attacked, and the halls became near to full of muttering soldiers trying to enter the room. Tom turned to Paul, muttering quickly, “Go find Patryck, and try to get communications back up. If you can’t, meet back here.”

  
Paul nodded, then looked at Tom with concern. “You’re not going in there on your own?”

  
Tom hesitated. He surveyed the pulsing crowd slowly, before shaking his head. “Get going. I’ll do my best here.”

  
Paul nodded slowly, setting off in the opposite direction. With a slight breath of exhaustion, Tom forged ahead into the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short chapter, but the finale is very soon...  
> Leave your predictions for the end if you have them!


	5. Toy Soldiers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another ending.

At first it wasn’t so hard to make his way through the crowd; a few shoves toward those who refused to move, a confident stride that would make most shuffle to the side instinctively, and it was easy to make an entrance to the impromptu hall. Once inside, however, it was obvious his job was going to be much harder.

  
Nearly every soldier seemed to be crammed in here, no wonder the ones outside were having such difficulty entering; the whole room was a mess of sweaty recruits, shouting unintelligible demands and waving weaponry about with an unrivalled inattentiveness. And of course, leading them all from the podium, was Murphy. He was clad in the mandatory army attire, bar a very choice change; a leader’s stripe on his jacket. Why and who put that there were certainly frustrated questions at the front of Tom’s mind, but replaced with more pressing matters.

  
At first he had been jostled along with the rest of the crowd, struggling to make his way to the front, but now people began to take notice of his appearance. He seemed to have one of two affects on the near rioting soldiers, either they would turn, catch sight of him and promptly pale and fall silent, or his appearance would only incense them further. A couple recruits actually had the audacity to shout at him, and although their words were unintelligible over the other hubbub, Tom was certain their words were mutinous at best.

  
Finally he could distinguish Murphy’s words over those of the crowd, as he drew closer to the podium. “…and if we allow this to continue, the whole army will be disbanded in a manner of weeks.  We will not allow for peace talks with the Greens, they’re the ones who killed our leader! The fact that Blue supports them is only further proof of his involvement in that conspiracy, he must not be allowed to bring Red’s work to ruin!”

  
His words evoked such a raw anger in Tom, that he didn’t notice the crowd suddenly giving him space; before he could move out of such a conspicuous position, he was quickly surrounded in a ring of soldiers, Murphy looked down at him with contempt. “And there he is.”

  
Tom glared back at him, fully aware of the armed soldiers on all sides. “What is this?” His voice was pitifully small against the noise of the army, even in a shout; there were several snickers from behind him.

  
“Oh, I think you know full well my intentions, don’t you? After all, you analyzed my file,” Murphy said in an undertone, before shouting to the audience, “Bring the Blue Leader up here! He can tell us the truth!”

  
Before Tom could assess the situation, the crowd was back to pressing around him, guiding him none too gently up onto the stage. He made an effort to make the walk on his own, but there was no pretending he was in control of the situation anymore. None of the soldiers followed him onto the mock stage, as he came to a stop before Murphy. “You’re such a coward, using their fear to get them to follow you-“ He started, only for Murphy to cut him off with a raised hand and a smirk.

  
“I’m only bringing them to the truth,” he hissed, before shouting, “We will allow the soldier a testimony, yes? Before his execution.”

  
Tom had turned toward the crowd, and certainly didn’t need to look back to hear the cocking of the gun behind him; quite frankly he had expected it as soon as he stepped onto the stage. There were unmistakeable gasps thoughout the audience, a  wave of shock however slight spreading quickly. So he did perhaps have a chance to win them back. He stepped forward and addressed the audience as he had done before so many times. “I disappear for a few hours and you all decide to riot? That’s almost surprising.” The crowd quieted slightly at his words, but there was still plenty of angry muttering.  Tom rolled his eyes, gesturing backwards at Murphy. “Would anyone like to tell me why you’re letting this guy rile you up?”

  
“He’s supposed to be leader!” Someone yelled, and the rest of the crowd shouted in agreement, adding phrases such as “Red wanted him to succeed!” and “You didn’t even want the job!”

  
“Let me guess, that’s what he’s been telling you?” But Tom’s words were lost in the commotion, and he was forced to wait until relative silence had fallen again. “If you will all just listen I can tell you what’s really going on.”

  
“Yes Blue, why don’t you tell them all how you plan to leave? Leave the army, with the knowledge that it can’t survive without a leader!”

  
The crowd shouted at that, while Tom turned around and stared at Murphy in amazement. He really didn’t care if Tom lost control of this crowd, and perhaps that was exactly what the corrupt soldier was aiming for. “I am going to get this army a leader,” he yelled back, facing the audience once more, “that’s the reason why I’m still here! Besides, I don’t remember ever declaring that I plan to leave-“

  
“Yes but he doesn’t deny it! Listen to his words!” It sounded as though Murphy was pacing side to side, although Tom didn’t turn to check. “He doesn’t care about Red Leader’s legacy, all his hard work; he’d just as soon see the army die than do anything to grow our force to new heights! Go on, ask him why we’ve stopped advancing on all fronts! Ask him why he is allowing Green soldiers to enter our territories, unchecked. Ask him why, even though such time has passed, no effort has been taken to honour Red Leader!”

 

Wow. Tom had to actually hesitate after that declaration; there was so very little he could say that could be used to defend himself. He had underestimated the traitor. “I don’t have an answer to that, but I do know Red left me in charge and not Murphy. You can all decide whether or not you want me here, but I won’t stand by and let Murphy take this army and skew it to his own wants.” He was practically shouting now, trying to speak over the restless soldiers. “If you think for a second that this man is going to lead you, you’re wrong; he will throw you all under the bus and nothing will be left!”

  
Murphy laughed behind him, and Tom could hear him step closer. “They don’t care Tom, all they want is a leader, and you are certainly not delivering there, are you?” The gun in his hand clicked softly.

  
The crowd screamed, the lights glared off Tom’s goggles, and he felt a bullet penetrate his left lung. He crashed forward against the podium, a pained sob escaping his lips. Papers, notes, shoved in his jacket crunched under the pressure, a strange sound amongst the rest of the commotion. There was a great rush as soldiers stormed the makeshift stage, whether for him or for Murphy he was unsure. He pressed a fist against the worst of the pain, trying to remember who was with him and who against, for he was being crowded now but the hands were gentle and he wasn’t sure whether to lash out or accept his fate. Somewhere, a gun clattered to the floor.

  
Suddenly he was lying flat on the rough wooden floor, staring up at the ceiling, and harsh words were being thrown about. For the life of him he couldn’t understand it, couldn’t know what was happening now; and he didn’t care. He was done caring. His chest burned, an unshakable weight pressing into it. This whole mess was done and over as far as he could take it, and now he was finished too. One last shaky breath fled his lungs, before his world turned black again.

 

  
  
Tom isn’t quite sure when he woke up. But now he’s laying on his back in a hospital bed, staring up at a blank ceiling and listening to a nurse tell him he had been out for several weeks due to complications. His first question, as soon as he could edge it in, was what had happened to Murphy; apparently the army had sided with the man Red Leader had put his faith in first, and Murphy was currently locked in the dungeon. There had been plenty of talk on whether to execute him for treason, but seeing as their current leader was only out of commission temporarily, no action had been made yet. That wasn’t to say tensions weren’t rising quickly though, many soldiers had already fled the force and those that were left were quickly headed towards a power struggle.  Tom needed to address them straight away.

  
Which he did, as soon as the doctor let him go. Only an hour later, all the remaining soldiers who had not abandoned ship or been thrown into prison for treason by the arbitrary rule those highest in command were enforcing had gathered in the same cafeteria.  Tom took the stage, not caring to put on a uniform. Paul had advised him to wear the formal outfit to take the slight bit of respect it would afford him, but he had decided it was better that the recruits see him as he had been before, and not as the new leader figure. So he kept a simplified version of his usual outfit.

  
The crowd stirred uneasily, everyone fully aware that whatever happened here was going to affect the army’s future. There was muttering here and there, no one quite willing to quiet down as their technical leader mounted the podium, although all were content with staring, certainly.

  
Tom just stood, waiting for the inevitable silence that would fall when curiosity won out over speculation. Most meetings like this would start with a shout or a gun going off, he thought, but then again he was running the show now and this was how he would like it.

  
Finally the murmurs quieted down, and Tom began to speak. “Thank you all for gathering here. Those of you who are left, I really appreciate it.” A curious whisper here and there, but otherwise the crowd waited patiently. “Obviously I’m still alive and well, and I have you to thank for that; but now that I am well, I want to inform you all officially that I will not be staying on as leader.”

  
Now there were the cries of indignance, coupled with plenty of head shaking and quiet “I told you so”s scattered throughout the crowd. Tom waited once again, aware of the potential danger in the army getting too stirred up. “I think most of you came to this conclusion on your own, and my mind hasn’t changed. I am not the right person to lead this force, and I certainly won’t pretend to be just because Red is gone.”

  
A pause, a breath, and he continued, “I’m going to leave you all the best I can, that’s why I was still here in the first place; I wanted to make sure no one like Murphy ended up in power.  There’s a list of names in the database for anyone to see detailing potential leaders, the last of the people who exemplified potential to lead in Red’s opinion and mine. I’ll leave it for you to decide.”

  
“Why won’t you stay?!” An outraged cry finally broke the uneasy stillness, and a chorus of voices echoed their sentiment. Tom hadn’t restricted weaponry, not wanting to spark fear in the crowd; but now a few of the unconfiscated guns were raised in the air, not aimed but an expression of displeasure.

  
Tom waited for silence once more, glancing offstage for a moment, as though looking for a prompt- of course, there was none. “I’m sorry, I know that may not come across to you but I truly am. I think you all know though, that I wasn’t ever meant to be leader.”

  
“Then why were you second?!” Someone else shouted, and once more the crowd erupted.

  
“Because,” Tom replied over the voices, tiring of his original plan, “Tord knew I wasn’t going to take the leadership!”  
Silence fell abruptly, mostly at the use of the Red Leader’s name. Tord had always been against it, almost violently so, and even in death most had continued to refer to him with his title. Tom took a breath, continuing in a slightly weaker voice, “Don’t you think it’s strategic to place someone who doesn’t want the power in the position? He knew I wouldn’t try to overthrow him or something equally stupid, I just didn’t care.”

  
“But didn’t he make you his successor?”

  
Tom glanced down at the soldier in the front, who had asked in nearly an apologetic voice. “…Yes. He did. And I know that’s strange, I told him not to do it, but I think he wasn’t sure who to make leader next and figured in the slight chance he died, he could leave the decision to me.” He laughed bitterly, startling the crowd. “Kind of a jerk move on his part. But I’ve done my best to set you up for success, and while I didn’t choose the leader, I also don’t think my judgement would be unbiased or necessarily the best fit for what you all would want.”

  
Tom looked down, composing himself silently before addressing the crowd with his original strength. “To be honest with you all, Tord didn’t leave me as his successor because I could lead. For that matter he didn’t even like leaving me to command a unit. He made me second in the first place because he knew I’d say what needed to be said and do what must be done.” The audience seemed confused, if not spellbound. “So my only advice to all of you is to figure it out for yourselves. If you want to follow some old mental image of Red, and do what you think he would have wanted, all the best to you. If you think that’s not the right way, find another path. Regardless, I’m leaving you to it the best I can.” A smile crept onto his face, and his next words were said with a laugh, “And at risk of sounding prideful, get yourselves another person like me. Because when everything goes to hell, you’re going to need someone, or even a group of people, who doesn’t care just enough to make it right.”

  
And just like that, Tom was finished. There was a stunned silence, as Tom walked away from the microphone; but slowly, like a trickle of water mounting to a rush, applause broke out across the cafeteria. Actually, more than Tom had been expecting; quite frankly he had made plans in case of a riot. He didn’t stop walking though, continuing out down the hall and towards the car waiting outside.

  
“Did it go over well?” Paul and Patryck were waiting at the entrance, as they had done for leaders many a time before and more than likely would again.

  
“I think so. Give it half an hour though, and we’ll see if they aren’t at each other’s throats.” The trio shared a laugh, before Tom shrugged a backpack onto his shoulder. “You sure you want to stay?”

  
“Yeah, I think if all the old leadership just up and left it’d be a bit of a train wreck.” Pat shrugged, sending Paul a small smile. “I think we’ve done pretty well as advisors so far, might as well keep that going.”

  
“Fair enough. If you are going to stay though, here.” Tom handed them a flip phone, ridiculously old school but a perfect throwaway device. “It’s got my number in it, I don’t know why you’d want to get ahold of me but if you use that I’ll answer.”

  
“Hopefully we can use it to catch up, not for some crisis.” Paul smiled around his cigarette, before asking, “Where are you off to anyway? Going back to Edd?”

  
“No, at least not yet; I’m kind of a war criminal anyway you know, so laying low for a while is probably a good idea.” He backed toward the car a little, opening the door and stopping halfway in. “Say a couple words for me at the memorial service, will you?”

  
“Of course,” Patryck said, and Paul nodded. “Goodbye Blue Leader!” They chorused, then laughed at the realization of their identical joking intent. Tom chuckled as well, entering the car. He set his case on the passenger seat, before resting his hands on the wheel and staring out into the road ahead. The sun was just beginning to set under a slightly overcast sky, framing the horizon a brilliant orange fading out to softer colours reflected on the cloud cover above.  He had thought, in leaving, maybe he’d have some sort of philosophical moment, something to really tie together this whole experience, but all he could think was that he hoped his old apartment was intact. The car started, and away pulled the vehicle, setting off for whatever lay ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s all folks! Thank you so much for reading, this has been a really fun project for me! Let me know what you think of the ending, and look forward to whatever my next fic will be when it definitely arrives!


End file.
